A senior Chinese environmental protection official has said China is expected to ban the production and consumption of leaded motor gasoline by July 1, 2000, according to the schedule set in mid-1998.

Wang Jirong, vice-director of State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA), said unleaded gasoline accounts for 90 percent of all the motor gasoline produced in China, and it also takes 70 percent share of the domestic market.

In a speech to the ongoing 99' Beijing International Environment-friendly Auto Technology and Product Seminar and Exhibition, Wang said the scheduled ban will be very important for reducing lead contamination as well as controlling air pollution across the country.

Beijing, which took the lead in banning leaded gasoline this year, has seen a marked drop of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide in its air pollutants in the past few months, she said.